# "Fantastic Mr. Fox" just looks... odd

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-mr-fox-just-looks-odd/518160>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 19, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-mr-fox-just-looks-odd/518160 "2009-11-19T16:21:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-mr-fox-just-looks-odd/518160/21 "2009-11-23T01:35:36Z")

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Looks like a breath of fresh air design and content-wise, much like Where the Wild Things Are.

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**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-mr-fox-just-looks-odd/518160/22 "2009-11-23T14:18:30Z")

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> [@WOOKINPANUB](#):
>
> Not only does it \*look \*weird, I can’t figure out what the story is or what age group it’s supposed to appeal to. I saw the trailer a couple months ago and the boyfriend and I simultaneously said “Tyler (his 5 year old son) won’t be into that”. Then we tried to figure out who would be into it, as it doesn’t seem quite whimsical enough for kids but also doesn’t seem to contain any “goes over kids’ heads but is funny to adults” type of humor.  
> Would any fans like to give a short synopsis? I know I could just look it up but I’d be more interested in hearing it from someone here.

I haven’t seen the movie, but I did read the book as a kid so I can tell you what that’s about.

Mr. Fox is (big surprise) a fox. He’s married to Mrs. Fox and has little fox children. Mr. Fox supports his family by stealing poultry from local farmers. I hadn’t thought of this before, but _Fantastic Mr. Fox_ is similar to Dahl’s _Danny, the Champion of the World_ in that the hero is a clever poacher who is also a loving father while the villains are the wealthy, lawful owners of the birds.

Anyway, the farmers get together and try to capture and kill Mr. Fox. He escapes, but winds up having to hide underground with his family. If they come out, the farmers will shoot them. Mr. Fox eventually comes up with a plan to dig under the farms so he can steal birds whenever he likes without being detected. He gets together with the badgers and moles to pull this off and they have a big feast.

I don’t know how faithfully the movie sticks to this plot, but from the trailer it looks like the basics are there. It appears to have been reworked somewhat to emphasize the “big heist” aspect of the story, so it may be more _Ocean’s Eleven_ with animals than _Danny, the Champion of the World_.

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**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-mr-fox-just-looks-odd/518160/23 "2009-11-23T16:03:13Z")

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Thanks for the rundow, **Lamia**. If the kiddo expresses a desire to see it I’m game, but this one might have to be a future rental.

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